Help with bonding

mytwomaleguineas

mytwomaleguineas

Junior Guinea Pig
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Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Hi there. I was crying in cookies cage and all of a sudden he started zooming around me. Did I frighten him? And I tried to calm him down and he kept biting the cage bars of walnut’s cage. Recently also, walnut and cookie have been sniffing noses and licking eachother through the bars. Sometimes after that happens, the other one would start biting the cage bars. Is this a bad sign? Or do they want to be together again? Thank you! :)
 
Have your boys had a full on fight?
If this was the reason they were separated then they should not be put back together.

Behaviour through the bars is no indication of how they will get on when placed together.
I ahve had several cases of guinea pigs seeming desperate to be together - bar biting, laying by the shared grid, etc - but when introduced in person things did not work out.

You may find our guides to bonding useful.
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
Swissgreys said:
Have your boys had a full on fight?
If this was the reason they were separated then they should not be put back together.

Behaviour through the bars is no indication of how they will get on when placed together.
I ahve had several cases of guinea pigs seeming desperate to be together - bar biting, laying by the shared grid, etc - but when introduced in person things did not work out.

You may find our guides to bonding useful.
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Click to expand...
Thank you! I did think there was a full on fight but we checked the security cameras and all they did was rumble past each other :)
 
Swissgreys said:
Have your boys had a full on fight?
If this was the reason they were separated then they should not be put back together.

Behaviour through the bars is no indication of how they will get on when placed together.
I ahve had several cases of guinea pigs seeming desperate to be together - bar biting, laying by the shared grid, etc - but when introduced in person things did not work out.

You may find our guides to bonding useful.
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Click to expand...
there was a pig being bullied though during the rumble strutting/teeth chattering time period. But no fighting
 
Bullying is when one piggy is constantly harassed to the point they become withdrawn and unhappy, lose weight through not being able to eat. This is usually bond breaking.
It’s not the same as just going through normal dominance - rumbling, chasing, mounting. These behaviours are not a reason to separate them.

If you are absolutely certain there was never a full on fight, then you might be able to try a neutral territory reintroduction. The issue is that your younger boy is just still a teenager and will still be having fairly high hormones. This could prevent a bonding from working out so you would need to be prepared to step in and separate them (using oven gloves to protect your hands).

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
 
Piggies&buns said:
Bullying is when one piggy is constantly harassed to the point they become withdrawn and unhappy, lose weight through not being able to eat. This is usually bond breaking.
It’s not the same as just going through normal dominance - rumbling, chasing, mounting. These behaviours are not a reason to separate them.

If you are absolutely certain there was never a full on fight, then you might be able to try a neutral territory reintroduction. The issue is that your younger boy is just still a teenager and will still be having fairly high hormones. This could prevent a bonding from working out so you would need to be prepared to step in and separate them (using oven gloves to protect your hands).

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Click to expand...
For the reintroduction, should I do it now or wait till walnut gets older? And how should I set it up? How big should the playpen be and should I be sitting in it or outside? Should I put their hides in or just nothing? Thank you so so much!
 
You can try it now.

The guide 'bonding and interaction' that I linked in above explains exactly how to carry out a bonding and the behaviours you are looking to see

the pen should be neutral territory
it needs to be big enough for two boars which is 6ft x 2ft
you dont need to sit in it. you put the piggies in it and observe their behaviour for several hours. if they fight then its failed and they need to be separated. if things go well then you clean down the cage they are to live in and then move the piggies into it together. they then will take two weeks to establish their relationship during which time you will see a lot of dominance behaviours. the bonding can still fail during this two week period
you only put a pile of hay in the bonding pen, no hides
 
Piggies&buns said:
You can try it now.

The guide 'bonding and interaction' that I linked in above explains exactly how to carry out a bonding and the behaviours you are looking to see

the pen should be neutral territory
it needs to be big enough for two boars which is 6ft x 2ft
you dont need to sit in it. you put the piggies in it and observe their behaviour for several hours. if they fight then its failed and they need to be separated. if things go well then you clean down the cage they are to live in and then move the piggies into it together. they then will take two weeks to establish their relationship during which time you will see a lot of dominance behaviours. the bonding can still fail during this two week period
you only put a pile of hay in the bonding pen, no hides
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! I will take a read. Is 4x4 c and c okay for the two boars if they get along?
 
Piggies&buns said:
You can try it now.

The guide 'bonding and interaction' that I linked in above explains exactly how to carry out a bonding and the behaviours you are looking to see

the pen should be neutral territory
it needs to be big enough for two boars which is 6ft x 2ft
you dont need to sit in it. you put the piggies in it and observe their behaviour for several hours. if they fight then its failed and they need to be separated. if things go well then you clean down the cage they are to live in and then move the piggies into it together. they then will take two weeks to establish their relationship during which time you will see a lot of dominance behaviours. the bonding can still fail during this two week period
you only put a pile of hay in the bonding pen, no hides
Click to expand...
One last question 😅 What are signs they want to be together?
 
A 4x4 is fine for two boars

They will just be happy in each other’s company and won’t fight. You will see dominance though and they may never want to sit next to each other or share a hidey though
 
Piggies&buns said:
A 4x4 is fine for two boars

They will just be happy in each other’s company and won’t fight. You will see dominance though and they may never want to sit next to each other or share a hidey though
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for all the help :)
When setting up the new cage, will the old hideouts their scents be fine or will they need new ones?
 
The bonding pen needs to be entirely neutral but it’s also best if the new cage, assuming bonding works out, is also neutral and clean. You don’t want either of them to view something in the cage as their own. Clean whatever you can.
Ensure all hides have two exits and that there is multiple of every item
There is a section specific to boar bondings in the bonding guide
 
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